


Start of Something New

by almostkawaii (AlmostNotReallyKawaii)



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Bonding, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, First Kiss, First Love, First Time, Forced Bonding, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, M/M, Relationship(s), Romance, Soul Bond
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-18
Updated: 2016-09-29
Packaged: 2018-06-03 00:18:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 8,460
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6589120
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlmostNotReallyKawaii/pseuds/almostkawaii
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After the war, Harry's just looking for a way to feel emotions again. So what if Draco Malfoy's being all weirdly nice to him? Harry can play "being nice" too. Hopefully. Maybe. If it weren't for those damn magnetic grey eyes...and the weird potions mishaps. A tale in which Hermione knows best (as usual).</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Empty Vial

Harry gathered up his Transfiguration things and stuffed them into his bag, sighing. Ever since he came back to Hogwarts, he had been miserable. It seemed unnatural; he'd never felt this way within the walls of the warm old castle. But a lot of things had changed. Much of Hogwarts was rebuilt, and some parts were a completely new design, courtesy of Hermione. Hogwarts had also added an "8th year" for students who missed their 7th year due to the war, or if they merely wanted to return to their 7th year in order to properly learn 7th year content.

The reason Harry felt so miserable was because he felt as though everything was moving on without him. Things had changed, and he knew that. He knew that Ron and Hermione finally realized their feelings for each other, which also mean they were practically never apart from each other. He knew that Ginny had found Blaise Zabini, and that they had hit it off, leaving Harry behind. He also knew that Draco and Pansy were falling apart, though he really didn't care. He just felt as though he was stuck in time while everything moved forward without him, leaving him behind.

He trudged between his classes each day. He really had no passion. There wasn't much future for him as an Auror, as much of the threat had dissipated after the war. Rules weren't exactly being broken. The only thing he had looked forward to was Defense Against the Dark Arts, and the new post-war teacher, Professor Janus Camelthorpe taught like Umbridge, without the utter hatred of Harry. In class they read the book, and occasionally, say, once a month, they would have a practical day, on which they would practice the spells they read up about all month long.

He felt empty. There wasn't much for him to look forward to, and all of his good times were memories of the past. The one thing Harry found solace in was flying. He had always trusted his Firebolt, but since he lost it in the war, he bought himself a shiny new Firebolt 2000 which flew better but felt worse. Though he missed his old Firebolt, he enjoyed the feel of the wind against his face, whether it was pleasant and warm, or sharp and cool.

Quidditch just wasn't the same. The house rivalry had decreased sharply after the war, though there was much resentment toward the Slytherins. But everyone tried to get along with one another. The number of inter-house friendships and relationships skyrocketed after the war. Everyone put aside their difference and made new friends. Everyone except Harry.

It wasn't that people didn't know about him, or want to become his friend. The media was still churning out post-war articles about the war, which heavily focused on Harry and his nonexistent post-war social life. It was more that most people just wanted to know Harry Potter, the Chosen One, rather than Harry, the awkward, silly, fun-loving, teenager who also sort of defeated the Dark Lord.

Leaving Transfiguration, Harry was lost in his muddled thoughts when he bumped into someone. He mumbled an apology and quickly walked forward, keeping an eye out for Ron and Hermione. Hearing footsteps behind him, he braced himself for some sort of a confrontation-something he surprisingly had not gone through in awhile. Feeling a hand on his shoulder, he turned around.

"Hey there, er, Potter...How's it going?" a familiar voice asked. Harry looked up and met startlingly warm grey eyes. Draco Malfoy was sheepishly grinning at him.

* * *

Harry looked up, confused. Why would Malfoy want to talk to him? Harry had politely thanked his mother for her aid, and Draco politely thanked Harry for saving his arse. Other than that, they had mostly avoided each other after the war. Harry almost missed the petty arguments they would have. He almost wished they were back, a way to make his life more interesting than it currently… _wasn't_.

"Er…fine, I suppose," Harry replied nervously, unable to pull his eyes away from the magnetic grey ones.

"That's…I suppose that's good, then. Good for you," Malfoy replied, awkwardly. He slid his eyes away from Harry's surprised ones and looked away. He seemed to be forcing conversation.

"Er…yeah…thanks," said Harry, feeling very confused by the whole matter. _Why would Draco Malfoy want to talk to you?_ His mind repeatedly asked. Malfoy dropped his hand from Harry's shoulder and put it in his pocket, glancing around nervously. Harry had forgotten Malfoy's hand was there in the first place.

"D'you want to ask me something?" Harry finally gathered the guts to ask. The situation was getting really awkward, and he was positive he was getting late to Herbology.

"Erm, well, er…d'you suppose you'd want to walk to Herbology with me?" Malfoy asked uneasily. His face flushed a little. Harry was baffled. Malfoy was in his Herbology class? Since when? Well, Harry did mostly keep to himself these days, and hung out with Ron and Hermione whenever he could, feeling like a third wheel. But he was still surprised at Malfoy's request. _What's he playing at? What does he want? Why is he asking me to walk with him?_ Harry's brain refused to relent.

"…Yeah, I suppose," Harry responded, looking up to meet Malfoy's grey eyes. He saw a flash of something in his eyes before they settled back into that magnetic, warm, grey… Shaking his head, Harry turned around and started walking. Malfoy took a couple large steps and caught up with him. They walked in silence all the way to Herbology, but Harry didn't feel much awkwardness. In fact, he felt…nice. Something warm. Something almost unfamiliar, as he hadn't felt this way in a long time. The war had almost sapped Harry of his emotions, and Harry felt like he was finally taking a step towards getting them back.

When they reached greenhouse 8, newly constructed for the 8th years, Professor Sprout looked up at them, releasing her grip on the Venomous Tentacula she was reviewing with the class.

"Hello there, Harry-oh! And Mr. Malfoy. You're lucky you made it just in time. Well, seeing as you are the last two, pair up and grab some gloves from the bucket. Please Head to Station 12 and begin reading the instructions on the pamphlet I've provided there." Bewildered, Harry only registered one thing.

He was partnering up with Malfoy?


	2. Slightly Volatile (One Drop Only)

Harry kept sneaking furtive glances over at Malfoy, still trying to comprehend the situation he was in. Hermione kept shooting him curious looks, and Ron looked bewildered, which was not quite different from how Harry himself felt at the moment. Curious, confused, and most of all, bewildered.

Malfoy quietly did his share of the work, focusing wholly on their plant. Every time he thought Harry should do some of the work, he would shift the pot and the pamphlet towards Harry minutely before folding his arms over his chest, looking determinedly away, a faint pink flush spread across his cheeks. Thus they continued quietly, efficiently, and quite civilly until they had finished the project.

Professor Sprout looked over, and her face beamed with enjoyment. Bustling over to Harry and Malfoy, she gave a shout of delight and called out to the class, "Look everyone. Mister Potter and Mister Malfoy have finished their Venomous Tentacula, and it has been properly desensitized, trimmed, and neatly repotted. Excellent work, boys. You are free to leave the classrooms and return to the castle. The next pair who finishes will also be allowed this privilege. The rest of you will have to complete a rough sketch of the subdued Devil's Snare before you may go. Run along now, boys."

Feeling remotely pleases, Harry gathered up his schoolbooks and quickly left the greenhouses, wanting some time to himself to think things over. Needless to say, Harry didn't receive that peace and quiet due to a certain bold-haired git who seemed suddenly interested in Harry. Hearing increasingly loud footsteps behind him, Harry turned and saw Malfoy jogging up the hill. Harry tried to ignore him and kept walking, but Malfoy did not back down. Slowing to Harry's walking pace, he caught his breath for a few moments before he spoke.

"Hey, erm, good work in there...what are you going to use the free time for?" Malfoy asked innocently, but Harry was far from fooled. _What could Malfoy possibly want with_ me? he wondered. _And why is he being all polite? It's unnerving..._

His thought trailed off as he realized that Malfoy was awaiting an answer from him.

"Erm...I suppose I'll go hole up in the library and finish the essay for Slughorn before dinner," Harry replied offhandedly, hoping Draco wouldn't keep talking to him.

"Oh, that's where I was going to go too. D'you mind if I joined you?" Malfoy replied. Harry was now confused, irritated, and bewildered. He couldn't gather his mind up into a response so he nodded his head and walked faster, hoping that whatever diety was on his side would save him from an incredibly awkward conversation.

Arriving at the library, Harry picked a table near the back where fewer students were working. Setting down his bag, he pulled out his Potions book, a slightly crumpled bit of parchment, and his ink and quill and tried to get to work. Only there was a little niggle in the back of his mind constantly bothering him and begging for his attention-a niggle named Malfoy.

Out of the corner of his eye, Harry could see Malfoy sneaking glances at him with a strange expression on his face. Confused, Harry tried to ignore him and ploughed on with his essay. Every few minutes he would hear a pause in the scratching of quill on parchment, and he would feel a pair of eyes on his hair. After this had continued for an hour, Harry couldn't stand it any longer. He stopped writing, put down his quill, and looked up at Malfoy, who was innocently scratching away on his parchment.

"What do want, Malfoy?" Harry spat out, feeling instantly ashamed at his bitter and annoyed tone. Malfoy's head shot up, and he looked at Harry in surprise for a moment before composing himself.

"Erm...what do you mean?" Draco asked, looking away from Harry as his cheeks flushed a light pink.

"I mean, why are you following me around and being nice to me all of a sudden?" even out loud the question sounded incredibly blunt and inconsiderate. But this was Malfoy he was talking about. Surely it didn't matter?

"I...I just thought that perhaps..." Draco fumbled over his words before he turned back to Harry with pained expression on his face. In a blink that expression was gone, replaced with the irritated smirk Harry was much more familiar with. "Of course you'd be irritated if someone was actually nice to you. Obviously The Chosen One has to have only his exclusive group of friends speak to him. Oh the horrors that would ensue if someone who just felt bad about their actions wanted to repay a debt they owed with kindness and maybe friendship."

Flabbergasted, Harry barely had time to open his mouth before Malfoy had shoved his parchment and textbook in his bag and stomped off.

Harry just sat there in the library for a while longer, trying to figure out what the hell was going on. Was Malfoy actually _sorry_ for what he had done? Did he think that being undeniably polite and friendly and cute could just wash away everything he had done? Harry wasn't even quite sure if-

 _Hang on,_ Harry thought to himself. _Backtrack. Did I just think of Malfoy as...cute?_

He waited for the wave of repulsion to wash over him, but it never did. Baffled, Harry looked around the library as if he could somehow find an answer to why or how he was feeling this way. _Wait_ , he thought, _what way?_

Feeling incredibly confused and slightly dazed, he decided to talk to the only person he could about teenagers and their strange ways.

* * *

He found Hermione in the common room, furiously scratching away at her Arithmancy essay with her books spread around her. Strangely, Ron was nowhere in sight. Hermione barely looked up as Harry sat down in the chair next to her.

"Ron's gone to the Quidditch field to practice some keeping. Isn't there a Quidditch match against Slytherin coming up or something like that? Anyways, he was totally determined to practice and abandoned me here with my Arithmancy essay. Not that he could have helped me much with that. So, Harry, what's going on?" Hermione had laid down her quill and now looked Harry straight in the eye. Harry had no idea how Hermione knew these things; she just seemed to have this intuition when Harry wanted to talk to her about anything.

Taking a deep breath, he began, "So, erm, you know how Sprout made Malfoy and me partners for Herbology?" Hermione nodded.

"He was acting kind of strangely before and after class. He was...being nice or something..." Harry trailed off and looked at Hermione, who had that knowing look in her eyes.

"Well, isn't that a good thing? I thought you always wanted Malfoy to just untwist his knickers and just be a normal bloke, instead of a prick."

"I know, but it was just...weird, you know? Like, after all these years we've been bickering, we've kind of just settled into this...mutual friendly-bickering thing and now all of a sudden he's just throwing years of that out the window and being all nice to me. Like 'Hey Potter, wanna work on essays together?' and 'Do you want to walk to Herbology together?' It was totally out of the blue. And then when I asked him why he was being all nice to me-"

"You asked him _why he was being_ nice _to you_? Merlin, Harry. Leave it to you and Ron to be the most tactless boys in our dorm."

"Huh?"

"Come on, Harry? If he was actually pulling down this stupid bickering you have going on just to be nice to you, you have to give it some time before you tearing down all his walls. Just-hang on. Do you mind his being nice or would you actually consider being his friend?"

"I-I don't know. I have to think about it. Anyways, when I asked him, he gets all flustered and annoyed, and he totally returned to his classic smirk and mouthed me off about not talking to anyone but you guys. And then he marched off."

"Wait- he got flustered? Like how?"

"I dunno, he kinda turned pinkish and had this weird expression on his face before he started mouthing me off. I felt kinda bad afterwards, he was looking all sad and...lonely, or something..."

Hermione's knowing look intensified before she looked away for a moment, staring into space, deep in thought. Then she turned back to Harry.

"Harry, look at me. Do you want to be Draco Malfoy's friend or not?"


	3. Stir Slowly (With Caution)

Harry had a headache and it wasn't going anywhere, thanks to the stifling heat of the potions classroom.

Despite being the typically cold, drafty dungeons, Slughorn had somehow miraculously found a potion for them to brew that had a step which required the already dark and dank dungeons to be precisely 38.2 degrees Celsius, much to the dismay of the 8th years. After a good round of moaning and complaining, the 8th years begrudgingly gathered their tools and ingredients and began to brew their potions.

Draco Malfoy was sitting at the table across from Harry's, and Harry couldn't help but glance over his way every few minutes or so. Malfoy looked totally unfazed. In fact, his entire focus was centered on his potion, as he carefully measured out the correct amount of bicorn powder. Harry felt an unpleasant twinge in his chest and turned away. Though he had thought about Hermione's pressing question, he honestly was not sure at all about what he thought of Draco Malfoy. Except that his hair was really blonde and soft-looking, and that his pink cheeks made him look...

Wait - what was he thinking about? He couldn't be spending time pondering Malfoy's...traits if he wanted to pass this class. Trying to focus on his potion and failing to figure out where to start, Harry turned to Hermione for help. However, as soon as he began to open his mouth to speak, Hermione cut him off.

"No, Harry. I'm not helping you with this one, okay? Look, this potion in particular is required to be brewed during the N.E.W.T.s and you definitely need the practice. Just follow the instructions, for Merlin's sake. It's actually not as difficult as it initially seems."

Glancing back over at Malfoy, Harry noticed that Slughorn was peering into his cauldron, looking impressed. "Well done, Mister Malfoy. Ten points to Slytherin. Since you have shown a full, grasping understanding of this potion, you are now free to wander the classroom and help the other students as you see fit." Malfoy stuffed his book back into his bag, latched the buckle, and, leaving it on his chair, began wandering the classroom. Harry looked at his face and was surprised to see no smirk or sneer adorning it.

Sighing, Harry turned back to his textbook and tried to decipher the miniscule font of the instructions. Squinting, he mouthed the words as he read, "Stir three times counter-clockwise and add three pieces of shredded boomslang skin. Stir four times counterclockwise and add half a teaspoon of bicorn powder. Your potions should turn a light periwinkle." Well, that certainly wasn't the hardest thing he'd ever done. He stirred the cauldron counter-clockwise three times as directed, and then added three pieces of shredded boomslang skin. Then he stirred three times clockwise, then carefully measured out half a teaspoon of bicorn horn...

Wait. His potion had just turned a deep purple when is should have been periwinkle...whatever that was. Hearing a scathing scoff from behind him, Harry turned his head sharply and looked up into the sneering face of Draco Malfoy. Harry rolled his eyes and returned to his potions, trying to figure out what he had done wrong. Thinking back, he realized that he had hurried the step before last and not completed the necessary four stirs.

"Potter," Malfoy began, but quietly so that Slughorn would not hear, "Don't fret. You only forgot one of the simplest yet most important steps in the instructions. Can't you read? It clearly says 'stir four times,' and what do you do? You promptly stir _three_ times and botch your entire potion. Congratulations."

"Shove off, Malfoy. Don't you ever take a break from being such an enormous prick?" Harry responded bitterly, irritated that Malfoy was insulting him on top of the fact that he couldn't get any better than a Dreadful on his ruined potion. "If you're not going to say anything helpful, then leave me the fuck- wait. How did you know that I only stirred three times?" Harry looked up at Malfoy curiously.

"Erm, well, I...erm...," Malfoy cheeks reddened for the slightest moment before his classic smirk returned to his face. Rather pompously, he retorted, "Well, as the best in the class, I obviously knew that you would surely botch up your potions on one of the simplest steps. Anyways, anyone can see what happened by observing the colour of the potion."

"Okay, whatever," Harry grew irritated and he shook his head and tried to focus on his potion."Well, if you don't have any advice on how to fix this, could you please leave me alone." Harry forced politeness into his strained voice.

"Erm, well, actually Potter, since you ask, if you add a drop of Shrivelfig juice to nullify the effects of the bicorn horn, you can add the fourth stir that you forgot and then re-add the bicorn horn and continue your potion on course," Malfoy said this all very fast and looked away, that smirk still in place. However, it was joined by the slightest flush that hardly anyone, let alone Harry, would have noticed had he not been within 2 feet of the Slytherin.

"Erm, alright," remembering the strange kindness that Malfoy had been extending towards him, Harry decided to take Malfoy's word. That and the fact that it was rather difficult to get less than a Dreadful, even if he botched the potion completely. Fixing his resolve, Harry did as Malfoy instructed and, miraculously, the potion turned the magnificent periwinkle color that he sought...well, he thought it was periwinkle. In reality, he had no idea what the blasted color actually looked like. Looking questioningly up at Malfoy, Harry opened his mouth.

"So, erm, is that periwinkle?" Harry asked, feeling dumb after he spoke.

"Shut up, you'll ruin my concentration," spat Draco, lost in focus. He finished the task he was doing and looked up a Harry, eyes bright from the exhilaration of his favorite subject. His mouth was twisted into a rare but genuine smile, and for some strange reason it began to make Harry's heart beat faster. It lasted but a second. It took him about a split second to switch into his classic smirk and announce, "Yes, Potter. That is the color periwinkle," he said in a mocking voice, as though he were talking to a kindergartner. 'Fat lot of good they did you in Primary School if you don't even know your colors." Draco waited a moment, smirking at Harry but realized that he hadn't heard any sort of retort from him. He looked closely at the boy and noticed that he was frowning reminiscently, as though he was remembering something that traumatized him.

"Hey, Potter. You alright?" Draco asked, feeling slightly awkward. Potter always had some sort of hot-headed retort to his insults and wisecracks. What was wrong now?

Clearing his throat, Harry glanced up to Draco's eyes for a moment before looking away again and muttering, "I, erm, I never went to primary school, so...erm...I suppose I never really learned all the random stuff about specific colors and animals and all that..."

With a inexplicable sinking feeling in his gut, Draco awkwardly laughed and tried to brush off the tension in the air by retorting, "Well that's, erm, absolutely..." Fuck. Draco couldn't think of anything even slightly derogatory to say, not even in a joking way, so his mouth just spilled out whatever he was feeling.

"Look Potter, it doesn't matter what you missed out on in the past. That's the one thing you can't change, you know. The past. I know that more than anything. But that doesn't matter because look where you are right fucking now. Alive and well, brewing a potion right - with my help, of course - and it really doesn't matter that you don't fucking know what periwinkle looks like, because now you have plenty of time to learn, and everyone will still love you anyways."

 _Fuck_ , Draco thought. _What the hell just came out of my mouth!?_ Flushing red, Draco snuck a look up at Harry and was startled to see a pair of bright, wide green eyes looking at his in surprise. One end of Harry's mouth was turned up in a smile. Draco, looking into Harry's eyes, offered a tentative smile, which was returned tenfold as a grin spread across Harry's face.

"Wow, erm, that was really nice of you Dra-Malfoy. I didn't know you could be so, er, thoughtful. T-thanks, I guess." Giving him a sheepish grin, Harry held his gaze for a moment longer. Returning his focus to the potion, he didn't notice the bubbling unfinished potion that had spattered onto his and Draco's palms.

* * *

Later, as he lay in bed, Harry couldn't help but think of what Dra- Malfoy. His name was Malfoy. Harry couldn't help but think of what Malfoy said to him. It was oddly out-of-character but didn't seem as though it was difficult for Malfoy to say. He seemed to be pretty comfortable with his attitude and what he was saying. Wouldn't it be funny if Malfoy was secretly the nicest guy ever? Stifling his laughter at the bizarre thought, Harry rolled over and tried to go to sleep. Unfortunately, his arm seemed to have other intentions. It was irritating him in a sort-of-almost-not-really-itchy way. He felt as though someone had peeled the top layer of his flesh off, and it was most definitely not comfortable.

Sitting up in bed and casting a quick _lumos_ , he looked down at his arm and noticed these strange curling tattoos that had appeared, curving all the way around his arm. Thinking that they were simply a strange reaction to the potion, he went to the bathroom and rubbed his arm thoroughly before returning to bed, convinced that they would be gone by morning. He had no idea how wrong he was.


	4. Protect Eyes While Using

"Whatever are those marks on your arm?" Hermione exclaimed the moment he stepped down from the dormitory staircase. The marks from last night had unfortunately spread; the deep blue-green and periwinkle intertwined as they raced up his arm. The marks were interestingly shaped; Harry might even have said that a few of them were heart shaped.

"Yeah, bloody hell, mate. I can't believe I didn't notice earlier!" Ron exclaimed as he came down the staircase behind him, grabbing Harry's arm and inspecting it the moment he arrived on the landing. Harry had braced himself for this. Of course when he woke up the marks had not budged; in fact, they'd darkened and seemed to have settled into his skin more than anything. He spent a good 20 minutes in the shower trying to rub them off, but all he got was several angry Gryffindors complaining about the shower-hogging Saviour and Seamus joking about Harry primping to impress someone.

During those 20 minutes in the shower, however, Harry did have a thought that slowly grew into a suspicion. Did the tattoos have anything to do with what occurred in potions the previous day? He would bet anything that this was the result of Malfoy fiddling around with his potion. It was probably all a big joke to the Slytherin anyway. A chance to make Harry seem even stranger in front of everyone? Malfoy obviously couldn't resist. His niceness was probably just a part of his elaborate scheme. But Harry couldn't help but feel a little kick in his chest at the thought. _Was Malfoy only being nice to me so he could do this?_

He fed Ron and Hermione some story about testing George's new removable tattoo product, assuring them that it would be gone in a few days, guaranteed. Ron seemed to buy it and patted Harry on the back reassuringly. Hermione, though suspicious, nodded before she turned around and led the lot out of the common room.

* * *

_Damn that Malfoy. What a prat. Couldn't he just shove off and leave me alone for once?_

A surge of irritation had spiked through the green-eyed boy after breakfast as he speedily walked towards his next class. He felt betrayed and irritated that Malfoy might have done this to him, then berated himself for trusting the pointy Slytherin git at all in the first place. Harry was on the verge of storming through the halls, much to the concern of Ron and Hermione. While the former looked absolutely baffled, the latter looked a little bit more concerned and quickly caught up to him. Holding a hand up to his shoulder, she stopped them in the hallway.

"What?" Harry couldn't help but snap out at Hermione. Flustered and slightly irritated, Hermione's concerned, comforting face instantly morphed into a feigned look of unconcern and superiority.

"Well, seeing as you've been behaving like a first-year, I thought I should ask if you wanted to talk about _something_ ," she gestured subtly towards his covered arm. "But clearly you're managing it perfectly well all by yourself!" she retorted coldly, storming off towards their next class. Ron then approached Harry, and, rather tactfully (it was quite surprising, actually), quietly asked Harry if something was on his mind.

"It's just... nothing, it's too weird. Plus this stupid prank item is stuck on my arm for the next few days," Harry said a bit quietly before continuing his walk at a slower pace. Ron gave him a disbelieving look and Harry sighed. "Fine...look, it just seems to me that Malfoy had been on my mind a lot more lately...certainly a lot more than I want him to be. There's definitely something unnerving about him these days..." Harry's voice trailed off.

Bemused, Ron asked, "So is this like 6th year? Do you think he's up to something again?"

"No, it's just... never mind. I'll think about it some more and maybe ask Hermione about it later," Harry sighed as they approached their destination - the astronomy tower.

"Alright then, mate. Whatever you're cool with. Just let me know once you've figured it out," Ron stated calmly before starting to climb the stairwell. Ron had changed a lot from the war. Harry didn't like to think it, but he had a feeling that Fred's death had some sort of positive impact on Ron's life, attitude, and maturity. Not only had he become quieter and much less boisterous, but he had also become more tactful and slightly more attentive to his studies (much to Hermione's surprise and satisfaction).

As Harry climbed up the stairs to the Astronomy Tower, he thought about whether Malfoy's actions were deliberate or accidental. He decided he would talk to Hermione about what happened later; the smartest witch in their year may be able to help him out a bit.

Of course the moment Harry climbed up into the Astronomy tower the first thing he had to see was the source of all his problems. Trying to move as far away from the Slytherin as possible, Harry caught up with Hermione, grabbed her arm, muttered a quick but sincere apology, and dragged her to the farthest side of the already cramped tower space.

"Harry, this is the absolute worst position to be trying to see Orion from!" Hermione whispered angrily to Harry when he pulled down her arm as she tried to get up and move. "What are you doing?"

Harry muttered something in response, which earned him a glare from Hermione.

"What do you mean, "I'll tell you later"? You know, I'm not going to wait around for Orion get back into this position after 13 years, 7 months, 2 weeks, 6 hours, and 13 minutes, just so I can complete this assignment then because I was listening to you now."

And with that, she wrenched her arm out of his grasp and marched over to the center of the astronomy tower, plopping herself down between Professor Sinistra and Neville Longbottom, steadily avoiding eye contact with Harry. It seemed that she had not quite forgiven him yet.

Sighing, Harry attempted to scoot towards the center of the tower so that he, too, could at least partially observe the constellation, when suddenly he found himself sitting between Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown.

While Parvati giggled and shot Lavender what Harry had learned was a _look_ (according to Hermione, anyway), Lavender merely eyed Harry for a moment before turning away and looking towards the other side of the tower. Deciding that he was going to be perpetually confused by girls in general, Harry focused on Professor Sinistra's lecture on the significance of the constellation Orion for certain charms and potion-making.

"This particular constellation actually amplifies the properties of several different potions ingredients; many of which you may already be familiar with. For example, the dual nature of the bicorn horn intensifies under the light of the constellation Orion, typically causing potions utilizing the ingredient to have a strengthened and split effect of sorts. In fact, I'll use the potion Chelidonium Miniscula and its rather interesting effect while under Orion as example." Harry's head shot up at the mention of Chelidonium Miniscula, and out of the corner of his eye he saw a blonde head look up sharply as well.

"The powdered bicorn horn manipulates the potion's original purpose. As many of you may know, Chelidonium Miniscula is a scented salve meant for healing potion burns and other potion-related injuries, with the side effect of leaving behind blue heal marks which eventually wear away. However, while under the influence of the cosmos, the duality of the bicorn horn reacts cleverly with this potion. Rather than healing potion burns, it ends up healing a little too strongly." Professor Sinistra then paused and looked at them meaningfully.

"This means the potion has the potential to heal the heart, and clease emotions. For this to occur, it essentially reacts differently with each person who may have touched it, and has been known the patch up arguments between friends or even matters of the heart. It works spectacularly well when two people with some sort of dispute happen to touch the same potion. Should the involved individuals no longer have any dispute, the marks will slowly turn lime green before fading away. Furthermore, the marks left behind by the strengthened potion also slowly spread throughout the body with the exception of the face, hands, and feet, forming in shapes dependent on the user's emotional situation."

Harry slowly registered everything that had just been told to him. _Does this mean that I'm going to get 'emotionally cleansed' of my feelings about Malfoy, no matter what they are?_ He felt irritated and upset that yet again a potion or something other than him had jurisdiction over his life. He was sick and tired of others telling him what to do, and now it had happened again. It was these sorts of events that really made him hate magic sometimes. Sighing, he glanced sideways to see Hermione looking straight at him, her eyes clouded with thought and calculation. He immediately avoided her gaze by whipping his head around in the other direction.

Big mistake.

Mal- Draco was peering at him, not angrily, as Harry had presumed, but curiously, bemusedly, inquisitively.

Somehow, Malfoy's gaze, with no sign of irritation or accusation in it, was even more unnerving.


	5. May Stain Skin

Malfoy cornered Harry after class, briefly muttering, "We need to talk about this," before walking away. Baffled, Harry merely followed the mysterious blonde until they both arrived in an empty hallway. Slowly pulling up his sleeve, Malfoy revealed blue tattoos marked up and down his arm, identical to Harry's.

Malfoy, whose back currently faced Harry, whipped around and pushed Harry against a wall by the shoulders.

"Why?" was all he said, his grey eyes positively glowing in the dim shade of the lantern-lit hallway, his voice charged with pent-up anger, irritation, frustration, and something else Harry couldn't quite put his finger on.

"Wh-what?" was all Harry could sputter out before Malfoy pulled him forward and slammed him back against the wall again, causing Harry to bang the back of his head against the rough cement wall. "Ow!" he shouted, his bewilderment instantly replaced with fury. "What the fuck, Malfoy?"

"Shut up, Potter," Malfoy's volume and pitch had dropped significantly, making his words even more menacing and intimidating. "All I was trying to do was be nice, maybe be your friend or something. The least I hoped was that you would forgive me. But no, to you of course I couldn't be doing that; why would Malfoy try to be nice? Let's dump some cursed potion on him to see if he leaves me alone!" Malfoy's voice grew steadily louder until he shouted the last words.

Harry was stunned. He hadn't realized Malfoy cared this much about the marks; his voice carried so much pain and malice. Before Malfoy could get in another word, Harry spoke up.

"Look, Malfoy, I had no idea this was going to happen!"

"Yeah, right, I totally believe that," Draco replied, voice dripping with sarcasm, making Harry even more irritated. He glared directly into Malfoy's eyes and pushed Malfoy's arms off of his shoulders.

"Malfoy, I'm telling you, I didn't do it, okay? How the hell was I supposed to know that some stupid constellation would react with a specific ingredient in a potion I was barely able to complete by myself?" Harry argued back, his green eyes glinting with a challenge. Malfoy blinked and stepped back a bit, flushing slightly, apparently in embarrassment.

"Fine, sorry," he muttered before awkwardly looking at a point above Harry's head for a moment. "So, you have them too?" he asked in a quiet voice. Nodding, Harry pulled up his carefully concealed sleeves. He had switched into a long sleeve tshirt and his winter cloak even thought it was only September. He noticed that Draco was dressed similarly, if not more fashionably. His white shirt had the distinct air of being more expensive, and his dark emerald robes framed his aristocratic face and slim shoulders beautifully. Not that Harry was looking or anything.

"Since they were obviously caused by the bicorn horn - at least, I certainly think so - I guess it means we have to have our hearts healed or whatever, right?" Harry looked up at Draco, steeling himself. "Well then I, Harry Potter, forgive you, Draco Malfoy, for any offense I may have, er, incurred upon you and, uh, I hope we can be friends from now on?" Harry patted Draco on the shoulder awkwardly.

Slightly shocked, Draco looked up at Harry with wide eyes for a moment before his face flushed slightly. He muttered something under his breath before looking back up at Harry, boldly stating, "I, Draco Abraxas Malfoy, accept the apologies of Mister Harry James Potter and grant him forgiveness. I also hope to receive forgiveness for my actions in return. I accept the extended hand of friendship."

"I, erm, forgive you also." Harry finished off quietly before grabbing Malfoy's hand with his own tattooed one and giving it a firm shake. The pair stared at each other awkwardly for a moment before Harry burst out giggling.

"Do you think it worked?" he asked between laughs. Draco too had cracked a smile. He took one sleeve of his cloak off and slowly, wincing, lifted his cuffs up, but no dice. The marks were still boldly there, clear as day. Harry too pushed up sleeves, and lo and behold, his tattoos were there as well.

"Clearly," Malfoy drawled, looking at Harry with a mixture of disappointment and...there was that _something else_ again. Baffled, Harry glanced down and looked a little more closely at Malfoy's marks.

Glancing back and forth at his and Malfoy's tattoos, Harry noticed some version of a strange symbol on both their arms. He took a step closer to Malfoy to inspect his tattoos closer, only to have a startled Malfoy back up no less than three steps.

"Wh-what do you think you're doing, Potter?" he spluttered, his face turning slightly red and his glare accusing.

"Nothing! I swear, I just noticed that your tattoos kinda match mine but are different somehow, and I can't place my finger on what that difference is," Harry explained, his gaze pausing upon Malfoy's flushed cheeks for a moment before returning, abashedly, to his own arm. _What am I doing, staring at Malfoy's goddamn cheeks?_ The through flashed through his mind briefly before he registered the fact that Malfoy was moving slowly closer to him.

"Well then, let's have a look then, hm?" Malfoy stuck out his arm and approached and lined up next to Harry's arm.

Together, the two tattoos formed a symbol that Harry recognized but couldn't for the life of him recall the name of. He glanced up at Malfoy, only to see that the taller boy's face had gone ashen pale, his lower lip quivering slightly.

Draco stared at their arms for a moment more, pondering the impossibility of what he was seeing. When he finally noticed Harry's gaze upon him, he looked up into those stunningly green eyes, his own sharp, grey ones full of confusion and panic.

Suddenly, he stepped away from Harry, backing up rather quickly in the span of a few moments.

"L-look, Potter, you just leave me alone, alright?" his voice was firmly quiet but stricken with fear. With that finality in his tone, Draco turned around and sprinted out of the hallway, quite nearly hyperventilating, leaving an extremely confused, slightly hurt, and perhaps somewhat fascinated Gryffindor leaning against the wall in the hallway.


	6. Heat Slowly (Do Not Boil)

Harry spent the following Saturday afternoon in the library, puzzling over magical tattoo removal books and trying not to think about Draco's panicked, hasty escape of the previous evening. It was clear that something about the way their tattoos lined up made Draco-

No. He had decided he was not going to think about it, and so he wouldn't. Harry focused his eyes on the textbook sitting open-faced in front of him, which revealed little more to him than the different salves available to remove potions-ingredient-induced stains. Based on what Professor Sinistra had said the previous evening, however, it didn't seem as though a simple cream or stain-remover would do the trick. Wracking his head as he pored over Astronomy and Potions books alike, Harry hardly noticed when Hermione sidled up next to him and dropped a large stack of books on the table immediately in front of her.

"Well, it's certainly nice to see that you're working on your...Potions homework and, er, Astronomy essay so early," she said cheerfully as she unpacked a piece of parchment and her self-inking quill from her bag. Harry started and looked up at her and her rather impressive pile of Ancient Runes textbooks.

"Good afternoon," Harry greeted her, smiling sheepishly. He didn't correct her assumption as he whispered a response. "Yeah, thought I'd get a head start," he said as she settled into the chair directly beside him.

Pulling one of the larger tomes towards her, she cracked open the book, releasing a puff of dust into the air. Coughing, both Hermione and Harry waved their hands to clear the air. As soon as Harry could (kind of) breathe again, he wheezed, "What the hell? How old even is that book?" before dissolving into coughs once more.

Hermione wisely pushed the book further onto the table slightly away from her before patting Harry on the back as he coughed. "It's supposed to be one of the original texts from around 600 AD, and it's from the Restricted Section, so it's no wonder that it hasn't been opened in a while."

"More like it hasn't been opened in _ever_ ," Harry muttered, taking off his glasses and rubbing them clean with his shirt before returning them to their place. "How are you still taking Ancient Runes even in your 8th year?"

"Well, I'm interested in specializing in Transfiguration, and knowing how to read runes and do rune magic is incredibly important for that," Hermione replied, "so McGonnagall pulled some strings and now I take one-on-one lessons with Professor Babbling twice a week."

"How do you already know you want to specialize in Transfiguration?" Harry asked, unable to figure out what to specialize in himself.

"Well, it's an incredibly fascinating subject, I'm good at it, and there are a ton of research opportunities as well as jobs both in and out of the Ministry that studying Transfiguration allows me to apply for," Hermione replied easily, "It's the most logical and likable option for me." Harry's eyebrows rose in admiration as she spoke, but when she finished speaking, his eyebrows wrinkled in confusion. What was the most logical and likable option for him?

Knowing that this was another train of thought he had traveled down one too many times (despite knowing that it was a dead end), Harry merely shook his head and smiled at Hermione. "That's great to hear! I'm glad that at least one of us knows what they're doing."

"Well, trying to study Potions and Astronomy at the same time certainly won't help you figure out what you want to do," Hermione teased, not unkindly. "Most of the potions we brew at out level are free from the influences of the constellations. Why are you studying both at the same time?"

Caught, Harry couldn't immediately come up with a good excuse. Avoiding eye contact with Hermione, he muttered, "I was hoping to figure out more about these marks..."

Frowning, Hermione grabbed Harry's right arm and pushed up the sleeve, peering at the marks, which had deepened in colour and looked as though they had been there forever.

"Especially this one," Harry mumbled, pointing towards the one that had caused Draco to flee.

"These look vaguely like...hang on," Hermioned thought out loud before dropped Harry's arm and grabbing another book from her pile. Leafing through it faster than Harry had ever seen anyone do, she seemed to arrive at the page she wanted to before laying the book down on the table immediately in front of her.

"What are you-" Harry began, but Hermione cut him off by grabbing Harry's arm again and pushing his sleeve up all the way until the marks on his entire arm were visible. Hermione peered closely at Harry's arm before referring to her book again, trying to decipher what were apparently runes on Harry's arms.

"Hermione, can you at least explain what you're-" Harry tried again but this time Hermione shushed him, peering once more at the text book, and again at his arm. She repeated this process twice more before crinkling her eyebrows and staring at the book, her eyes skimming across the pages as she flipped through.

"Well?" Harry prompted, wondering if she'd found anything. Hermione glanced up at him, stared at him for a beat, and then returned to poring over the book. Confused, Harry tried again after a minute.

"Hello?"

"Sorry, I just had to make sure- it still doesn't really make sense, but-"

"Hermione, what are you talking about?"

"Those marks on your arm. They're Ancient Runes, maybe even Binding Runes. Which means they're powerful. And the one that you pointed out to me is especially powerful, though it doesn't seem to make a lot of sense," Hermione began. "By which I mean I can't exactly decipher it yet, since I don't know all binding runes yet...This rune is a combination of the individual runes, and it looks like there is a merkstave rune in it as well, which is never good. It actually looks like this rune is kind of cut off, but from what I can tell, there's an isa rune, a laguz rune, and a merkstave ansuz rune. I still can't figure out what this part right here is, but the marks around this rune are very, very protective. This isn't going to be easy to get rid of - speaking of which, where did you get it from?" Hermione looked at Harry, confused.

Harry flushed slightly and looked away, before muttering, "I think it has something to do with potions on Thursday...and then Astronomy on Friday seems to have made it worse...and then I talked to Malfoy and it got even da-" Harry cut himself off when he realized he was revealing too much, but the dawning look of realization on Hermione's face told him he was too late. Her mind's cogs were already churning, and he could practically feel the thought waves emitting from her head.

"So...that day after you and Malfoy were bickering over a potion, you ended up with these strange marks all over your arm. And isa usually indicates a challenge or frustration, while laguz means renewal and healing, and merkstave ansuz means boredom. Clearly there's a connection between these runes and your current lifestyle..." Hermione rattled off so quickly that Harry barely caught the names of all the runes.

"...What?"

"Wait, something doesn't make sense. These marks are much darker than yesterday morning, and this line right here doesn't make sense, either it's another, smaller isa, but that doesn't make-" Hermione's brain was working nonstop, and Harry was powerless to interrupt her as she spoke. Instead, he tried to remember and decipher exactly what she had explained earlier.

_So, one of these runes has to do with a challenge, and the other has to do with...renewal? And the last one means boredom. Well, at least that one makes sense since school's been horribly boring since I got back here. Well, boring apart from Malfoy-_

_Hold on. What does that mean? Do I really think Malfoy is the only non-boring thing in my life? How bizarre... Though spending time with him certainly is a challenge...And I guess we've renewed some kind of...relationship, I guess..._ His thoughts were cut off as Hermione verbally caught up with exactly what Harry was thinking.

"Harry, this has something to do with Malfoy. I say we should go down to the dungeons and ask him if he has those tattoos too, then maybe we can get started figuring out how to dissolve this bond-"

"BOND? Did you just say that Malfoy and I have a _bond_?" Harry exclaimed, earning him an angry glare from Madam Pince. After sheepishly mouthing a quick apology to her, he whipped his head back towards Hermione, his expression adamant.

"Calm down! The word "bond" when referring to Ancient Runes simply means the physical and magical manifestations of the runes on your person and on your magical signature, otherwise known as a bond. If we can figure out the exact nature of the bond, we can figure out how to attune your body and lifestyle to best allow the magic trapped within these markings on your arm to be released. Judging by the excessive protective markings around the rune, however, this is probably going to be harder than it typically is. We might even have to brew some potions. And if Malfoy actually _is_ involved, then that makes this whole thing twice as difficult," Hermione explained again, her tone crisp and her speed rapid-fire. Harry blinked at her, processing all that she said and how startlingly different her words were from her expression.

She didn't look worried or upset, which Harry found rather strange. The way she looked reminded Harry of the look she got when she just found an incredibly difficult Arithmancy problem and was just about to tackle it. Hopefully that meant that it wouldn't be too dangerous or too impossibly difficult to handle.

But when had things ever worked out the way he hoped?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Sorry for the helllllla late update, guys! I hope that it's actually worth picking this story back up again. I figured out a lot more of the plot things as well as the Rune, which I will soon upload to tumblr along with a guide to decipher it. I'll link it at the end of the next chapter, once we get to see what Draco's half looks like. Please R&R, and give me any tips, tricks, advice, or wishes you have for this story! I hope to stay motivated to keep updating this story. Additionally, I'd like to write a few more chapters for Return and finally finish it so I can focus on this story, Reversal, and the plot of Echoes of Stars (which has essentially no plot right now...).
> 
> Wish me luck, guys! And, as always, your encouragement via R&R's as well as your thoughts and ideas are very motivating and very much appreciated! Love you all! ^.^


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